Ender 3 Pro
The Ender 3 Pro, developed by Creality, is a (FDM) machine, also known as a 3D Printer. This printer is located in the Idea Shop Assembly Area by the north electronics workstation and is available for use by students at absolutely no cost. Students are responsible for all aspects of using the machine, as laid out on this page. Please make an effort to follow the suggested settings, and try to keep your prints as short as possible.
This printer is considered an "On-Your-Own" printer and is much more basic than other printers available in the Idea Shop. It may not be able to handle complex geometry and is generally used for first prototypes. If complex geometry is required for your part, please use a different printer available.
- General Stats:
- Material : Polylactic Acid (PLA)
- Maximum Part Size : 220*220*250mm (8.7in x 8.7in x 9.8in)
- Layer Thickness : 100 microns to 150 microns
- Resolution : 100 microns (0.1 mm)
- Program : Cura
- Suggested Settings :
Under Construction, values may not be accurate.
- Nozzle Temperature : 200 Celcius
- Bed Temperature : 60 Celcius
- Layer Height : 0.1313 mm
- Initial Layer Height : 0.2625 mm
- Infill Density : 22%
- Build Plate Type : Raft
Choosing a pre-set profile will help make life easier. The print time will vary depending on what pre-set is chosen
Preparing Your Part
First, use Netfabb to make sure there are no issues with your files. Your parts MUST be one shell each. See more at Fixing STLs. Once the files are properly prepared and saved as STLs, open the files in Ultimaker Cura and place them on the bed as desired. On the right, make sure the settings are set according to our suggestions above. To ensure that support material will be created, enter Layer view. Support material made by this printer is created using the same material as the part material and must be removed from the part manually.
The recommended file format for printing with the Ender 3 Pro is ".gcode". Use Ultimaker Cura, available on the Assembly Area Workstations, to prepare your part. To load your file onto the Ender 3 Pro, save it as a ".gcode" file to the microSD card connected to the Printer. There is a microSD to SD card adapter located by the Ender 3 Pro that can be used to connect the microSD card to any of the Assembly Area workstations. It is recommended to create a folder on the microSD card with your name on it to contain your files
Once you have your .gcode file saved to the microSD card, insert it into the Ender 3 Pro on the front of the printer. Turn the printer on and use the pinwheel to navigate to the "Print" menu. This loads the root directory of the microSD card. Navigate to where you stored your file, and select it. This will cause the printer to begin preheating and will begin printing automatically when ready.
Leveling the Bed
First, home the printer and turn off the power. Using paper, set the height of the head to the thickness of a page of A4 printer paper. Manually move the head to each of the corners and adjust the springs using the knobs under the build platform.
Changing the Material
PLA is the only material that can be used with this printer.
In order to replace the PLA filament, first turn on the printer. Use the spin wheel to navigate to: Preheat > Start Preheating, and wait for the Nozzle to get up to operating temperature.
Once at operating temperature, navigate back to the main menu and select the "Move" menu. Select "Extruder", and use the spinwheel to "retract" the filament out of the Extruder head. Once the filament is out enough, you can squeeze the plastic lever on the top of the printer to pull the filament the rest of the way out of the printer.
To load the new material, squeeze the plastic lever on top of the printer and feed the filament into the plastic tube. Then, release the plastic lever and use the spinwheel to "extrude" the filament until it begins coming out of the nozzle. The nozzle must be at operating temperature during this process, or the filament will not melt and will not be loaded properly.
Removing Parts
DO NOT USE SHARP OBJECTS TO REMOVE A PART! It damages the bed of the printer.
Location
